Escalator and moving walkway handrails travel over a continuous path which is defined by handrail guides both above and below the balustrades of the conveyor and on both the entry and exit landing balustrade newels. The handrails are typically powered by some sort of nip-type drive or other form of traction, wherein the handrail continuously moves through a drive nip which may be formed by opposed roller sets, opposed belt sets, or a combination of rollers and belt, or around a traction roller. U.S. Pat. 2,660,286 granted Nov. 24, 1953 to S. G. Mayes illustrates the latter type of drive. In moving handrail systems, there is an inherent problem relating to handrail tension, in that sufficient tension must be maintained to keep the handrail movement smooth and to keep the drive nip pressure at an optimum level, while at the same time, sufficient handrail slack must be maintained to hold system friction down to acceptable levels. In escalator and moving walkway systems which are assembled in the field, the achievement of an optimum tension/slack condition in the handrails is largely the result of guesswork. Readjustment of the handrail after servicing, replacement or repairs of any part of the handrail system in the field is also an inexact procedure.